Stopper rod actuating device



P 13, 1956 R. s. CROWELL ETAL. 3,271,827

STOPPER ROD ACTUATING DEVICE Filed April 22, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS RICHARD S- CROWELL BY THOMAS A. CUSCINO ATTORNEY p 13, 1966 R. s. CROWELL ETAL 3,271,827

STOPPER ROD ACTUATING DEVICE Filed April 22, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS R I C H A R D S C R OW E L L BY T H O M AS A C U S C I N 0 ATTORNEY p 1966 R. s. CROWELL. ETAL. 3,271,827

STOPPER RQD ACTUATING DEVICE 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 22, 1964 RICHARD 'SN C QWELL F 3 BYTHOMAS A. CUSCINO mwflzw Y ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,271,827 STOPPER ROD ACTUATING DEVICE Richard S. Crowell, Bloom Township, 111., and Thomas A. Cuscino, Baldwin, Pa., assignors to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 22, 1964, Ser. No. 361,673 3 Claims. (Cl. 2285) This invention relates to a stopper rod rigging and actuating device for controlling the flow of a metal from a bottom pour vessel and particularly a ladle.

In a continuous casting process wherein the hot metal is poured from a bottom pour ladle directly to a mold, it is essential to control and vary the metal flow rate to meet varied conditions. Presently known riggings and actuating devices do not permit adequate control of the pouring rate to be suitable for continuous casting.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel and rigid mounting of a stopper rod located above the ladle, which will eliminate or minimize pulsation or one or more stopper rods, resulting in improved controlled pouring of hot metal, particularly when casting at slow rates.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cross beam situated above the ladle for rigidly supporting the stopper rod or rods.

A still further object of this invention is to incorporate in a bottom pour ladle a rigid overhead mounting for stopper rods including hydraulic control cylinders, means for cooling the hydraulic cylinders, and a locking mechanism to maintain the stopper rods in closed position when it is not desired to pour metal.

Referring now to the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a bottom pour lad'le of the present invention, with parts broken away.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view with parts in elevation taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the yoke and hydraulic actuating cylinders according to this invention.

FIG. 4 is a section-a1 view taken along line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a detailed perspective view of a portion of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a ladle and stopper rod rigging therefore according to a modified form of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view along line 8-8 of FIG. 6.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5 of the drawings, 10 indicates a bottom pour ladle having a circular side wall 12 which terminates at its upper end in rim 14. Ladle 10 has a pair of discharge nozzles 15 and 15a in the bottom. A pair of stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a control the discharge of molten metal through these nozzles. It will be understood that the ladle may have one discharge nozzle, or more than two discharge nozzles if desired. A ladle having two discharge nozzles is shown herein merely for purposes of illustration. Each discharge nozzle is controlled by its own stopper rod, regardless of the number of nozzles provided. Only minor modifications which can be made by those skilled in the art are required to adapt the mechanism herein described to suit one or more stopper rods for bottom pour ladles.

A plurality of upstanding lugs 18 are provided at spaced points on rim 14. These are preferably located as shown in two pairs, the two lugs in each pair being close together and the two pairs being located at predetermined points on the ladle rim. Each of the lugs has an 7 upstanding slotted portion 20 of diameter less than that of the lug.

Patented Sept. 13, 1966 A hollow cross beam 22 extends across the open top of the ladle between two predetermined positions of rim 14. This cross beam 22 constitutes the supporting structure for stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a. This hollow cross beam has a horizontal bottom wall 24, a pair of vertical side walls 26, a pair of end walls 28, upper Walls 30 adjacent the end walls 28 of the cross beam 22, horizontal plate 31, and a head structure 32 which is supported on plate 31. Plate 31 is welded to side walls 26 and upper walls 30. Head structure 32, which is in the central portion of cross beam 22, lies above the ladle discharge openings. It has side walls 33, which are continuations of side walls 26, a vertical edge wall 34 which rests on plate 31 at its lower end, a second edge wall 35 having a vertical portion and below that a sloping portion terminating above the wall 30 so as to leave an opening to the interior beneath head structure 32. Latera-lly projecting ears 38 are provided on side walls 26 adjacent to end walls 28 for securing cross beams 22 to the ladle. These ears rest on lugs 18, and have holes to receive slotted portion 20 of lug 18. Wedges 40 secure cross beams 22 to the lugs 18.

Cooling air is admitted to the interior of hollow cross beam 22 by means of an air inlet opening 42 in one end wall 28. Opening 44 in wall 26 permits access to the interior for adjusting nut 75. Part of the cooling air admitted through air inlet 42 travels upwardly through openings (best seen in FIG. 2) in plate 31 to the space heneath head structure 32. Edge wall 34 and cover 36 are spaced apart (as best seen in FIG. 2) to provide a second air exit opening 52. A third air exit 53 is provided by the gap between walls 30 and 35. Air also passes out through the circular flanges 79.

The movements of stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a are controlled by identical hydraulic cylinders 54 and 54a, which are fixedly mounted on plate 31. These cylinders are axially aligned with stopper rods 16 and 16a respectively. A detailed cross-sectional view of one of these cylinders is shown in FIG. 2. Cylinder 54 has a piston 56 attached to an annular piston rod 58 which extends beyond both the upper and lower ends of cylinder 54. End flanges 59 at both ends of piston rod 58 enclose the space within the piston rod. Conventional packaging rings 60 are provided on piston 56 and cylinder 54 for making a fluid tight seal. Piston 56 divides cylinder 54 into an upper chamber 62 and lower chamber 64. Fluid pressure to these chambers is provided through tubing 66 and 68 respectively. Similarly, tubing 66a and 68a supplies fluid pressure to the upper and lower chambers respectively of cylinder 54a. The tubing 66, 66a, 68 and 68a extends through gap 53 and terminates in manifolds 70, 70a, 72 and 72a respectively located on cover wall 30. These manifolds 70, 70a, 72 and 72a permit rapid connection and disconnection of flexible hoses for supplying hydraulic fluid from an external source not shown.

The stopper rod is threaded to receive nuts 75, which are tightened against the top and bottom piston rod flanges 59. Thus it is seen that stopper rod assembly 16 is supported for vertical movement by cross beam 22 through plate 31 and cylinder 54 which are fixedly mounted with respect to cross beam 22, and piston rod 58 and stopper rod assembly 16 are mounted for reciprocation in cylinder 54. Stopper rod assembly 16a is similarly mounted. The top portions 74 and 74a extend through openings 78 in bottom wall 24, and upstanding circular flanges 79 surround the circumference of these openings.

Stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a are actuated by O hydraulic cylinders 54 and 54a when molten metal is poured in the normal course of operations. As piston 56 travels upwardly in cylinder 54 the nozzle in the bottom of the ladle is opened wider to permit more rapid egress of metal. Conversely, when piston 56 is lowered, stopper rod assembly 16 is lowered so as to reduce the pouring rate or close the nozzle entirely. The rigid mounting base afforded by beam 22 makes it possible to position the stopper rods 16 and 16a accurately in any position from fully closed to wide open, and thereby makes accurate control of the pouring rate possible.

The admission of fluid to cylinders 54 and 54a may be controlled remotely by known manual means. If desired, movements of the piston may be controlled automatically in response to the level of liquid in the mold into which metal is being poured.

Conventional hydraulic fluids may be used in cylinders 54 and 54a. While a non-inflammable hydraulic fluid may be used if desired, other hydraulic fluids may also be used safely. The cross beam construction of this invention provides for circulation of air close to cylinders 54 and 54a so as to prevent heat accumulation and the consequent danger when inflammable hydraulic fluid is used.

It is desirable to lock stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a in closed position mechanically as well as hydraulically until the pouring of molten metal is started. Thus, while the ladle is being hoisted into position over the mold, the stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a are mechanically locked in closed position as hereinafter described. After the ladle 10 has been placed in position over the mold, the stopper rods are unlocked and thereafter the pouring is controlled by the hydraulic cylinders 54 and 54a.

The locking mechanism includes a vertical hold-down rod 80 which is pivotally secured by pin 81 to yoke 82 at the midpoint thereof. Yoke 82 terminates in bifurcated ends 84 and 84a, which bear against the stopper rod top portions 74 and 74a respectively. When hold-down rod 80 is in its lowermost position, as shown in FIG. 2, stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a are held in closed position.

The hold-down rod 80 is screw threaded at its lower end 85 to receive a nut 86 and a washer 88. A pair of wedges 90 and 92 of bifurcated construction as most clearly seen in FIG. 5 surround the lower portion of holddown rod 80 above washer 88 but below plate 31. It will be noted that plate 31 has an opening therethrough permitting free passage of hold-down rod 80. Wedges 90 and 92 have a common surface 94 which is inclined at a slight angle to the horizontal. When it is desired to hold stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a in the closed position, Wedges 90 and 92 are placed in the solid line position of FIG. 4 and nut 86 is tightened until the wedges are firmly wedged between washer 88 and plate 31.

Manual unlocking of the stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a by means located exteriorly of cross beam 22 is provided for. This mechanism includes a pair of links 96 which are pivotally secured to both wedges 90 and 92, a rod 98 which extends out of hollow cross beam 22, eyelet 180 which is secured to rod 98, and hook 102 which is adapted to be inserted into eyelet 180. Rod 98 is screw threaded at each end, with one end extending into an internal screw threaded hole in wedge 90. The screw threads at the outer end of rod 98 receive eyelet 100 which has an integral nut 106. A spring retaining plate 108 bears against nut 186 and this plate forms one abutment surface for spring 110. The other abutment surface is constituted by the exterior wall of cross beam 22. This spring positions rod 98 outwardly when wedges 90 and 92 are released.

When it is desired to unlock the locking mechanism, rod 98 is turned by means of hook 102. This exerts a separating force between the hold-down rod 88 and upper wedge 90 causing wedge 90 to move to the right when viewed as situated in FIG. 4. Links 96 pull lower wedge 92 laterally as upper wedge 98 is pulled, so that these two Wedges retain the same relative position. These two wedges are pulled to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 4, in which position hold-down rod 81) may move up and down freely and as a consequence the up and down movement of stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a may be controlled by hydraulic cylinders 54 and 54a. The stopper rod assemblies 16 and 16a, cross beam 22, and hydraulic cylinders 54 and 54a are located in place prior to the pouring of any molten metal into the ladle. The stopper rod assemblies are set in locked position before metal is poured in. After molten metal has been poured into the ladle and the ladle has been positioned over the mold, the locking mechanism is unlocked by turning hook 102 as previously described. This places the mechanism under the control of the hydraulic cylinders 54 and 54a, which may be controlled either by an operator or automatically as previously indicated.

This invention has been described with particular reference to a bottom pour ladle, but it will be understood that the invention is equally applicable to any vessel for molten metal which contains one or more discharge openings in the bottom. Metal which is poured from the discharge nozzles of the ladle herein may be introduced into any suitable receptacle. This receptacle may be a conventional ingot mold, and when the ladle is used in continuous casting, the receptacle may be either a tundish or an open ended tubular continuous casting mold.

Referring now to FIGS. 6-8, is a bottom pour ladle having a pair of nozzles 122. A hollow cross beam 124 extends above the ladle between two points on the rim so located that the beam 124 does not pass directly over nozzles 122 but instead is parallel to and displaced a short distance from the line connecting the centers of the nozzles. Beam 124 has an air inlet 126 for admitting cooling air for cooling the parts located inside beam 124. Beam 124 may be thermally insulated if desired.

The stopper rod assemblies include double acting hydraulic cylinders 128 mounted inside beam 124 and having exteriorly extending piston rods 130, short cross bars 132, and stopper rods 134. A bifurcated guide 136 having a retainer 138 guides stopper rod 134 in correct vertical alignment. Cylinders 128 are conventional double acting cylinders having a reciprocating piston therein with fluid inlets for admitting hydraulic fluid above or below the piston as desired. Since these details as well as the hydraulic systems for supplying hydraulic fluid to cylinders 128 are known in the art, they have been omitted. Various stopper rod constructions comprising a metal rod clad with a refractory sleeve are known and may be used herein. Lateral displacement of beam 124 from a position directly over nozzles 122 facilitates replacement of stopper rods 1314. Because cross beams 132 are short, there is little play or lost motion between cylinders 128 and stopper rod 134. Hence this embodiment of the invention provides a rigid stopper rod mounting which permits precise positioning of the stopper rod so as to permit close control over the pouring rate through nozzles 122. A locking mechanism similar to that shown in FIGS. l-4 for locking the stopper rods in closed position can be provided if desired.

While we have described this invention with respect to a specific embodiment thereof, this description shall be regarded only as illustrative and the scope of the invention shall be limited only by the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. For a bottom pour ladle containing molten metal having at least one discharge nozzle in the bottom, a hollow supporting beam extending over said ladle between two predetermined points on the rim thereof and secured to said rim, stopper rod means comprising one stopper rod assembly for each discharge nozzle depending from said supporting beam, hydraulic means comprising a fluid actuated cylinder operatively connected to each stopper rod assembly and supported by said supporting beam, means for circulating air through said hollow supporting beam to cool said hydraulic means and related mechanism, and means for manually locking said stopper rod means in closed position.

2. For a bottom pour ladle having at least one discharge nozzle in the bottom, a hollow supporting beam extending over said ladle between two points on the rim thereof and secured to said rim, a stopper rod assembly controlling said discharge nozzle, a fluid actuated cylinder supported by said supporting beam for actuating said stopper rod assembly, said cylinder being axially aligned with said stopper rod assembly, said cylinder having a piston rod extending exteriorly of said cylinder in both directions, said piston rod being connected to the stopper rod in axial alignment therewith, a yoke adapted to bear against the upper end of said stopper rod assembly, a hold-down rod pivotally connected to said yoke, said hold-down rod being screw threaded at its lower end to receive a nut and washer, a pair of wedges having bifurcated portions surrounding said hold-down rod and located between said nut and washer and a fixed abutment surface, whereby tightening of said nut against said wedges holds said hold-down rod in a position locking said stopper rod assembly in the closed position, and means for manually moving said wedges laterally from said hold-down rod to release said hold-down rod from the locked position.

3. For a bottom pour ladle containing molten metal having at least one discharge nozzle in the bottom, a hollow supporting beam extending over the ladle between two predetermined points on the rim thereof and secured to said rim, stopper rod means comprising one stopper rod assembly for each discharge nozzle depending from said supporting beam, hydraulic means comprising a fluid actuated cylinder operatively connected to each stopper rod assembly and supported by said supporting beam, and means for circulating air through said hollow supporting beam to cool said hydraulic means and related mechanism.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,113,894 4/1938 Lucier 22-85 2,336,518 12/ 1943 Whittaker 22-85 2,753,605 7/ 1956 Carleton 22-85 3,028,642 4/1962 Staufier 22-85 3,063,109 11/1962 Papaport 22-85 3,091,824 6/1963 Manshel 22-85 3,162,909 12/ 1964 Sylvester 22-85 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

R. D. BALDWIN, Assistant Examiner. 

3. FOR A BOTTOM POUR LADLE CONTAINING MOLTEN METAL HAVING AT LEAST ONE DISCHARGE NOZZLE IN THE BOTTOM, A HOLLOW SUPPORTIONG BEAM EXTENDING OVER THE LADDLE BETWEEN TWO PREDETERMINED POINTS ON THE RIM THEREOF AND SECURED TO SAID RIM, STOPPER ROD MEANS COMPRISING ONE STOPPER ROD ASSEMBLY FOR EACH DISCHARGE NOZZLE DEPENDING FROM SAID SUPPORTING BEAM, HYDRAULIC MEANS COMPRISING A FLUID ACTUATED CYLINDER OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO EACH STOPPER ROD ASSEMBLY AND SUPPORTED BY SAID SUPPORTING BEAM, AND MEANS FOR CIRCULATING AIR THROUGH SAID HOLLOW SUPPORTING BEAM TO COOL SAID HYDRAULIC MEANS AND RELATED MECHANISM. 